This invention relates in general to apparatus for facilitating the transfer of logs, and more particularly to apparatus which can separate laterally fed logs from an intake station, one at a time, to a suitable discharge station.
In a typical log deck, logs which are taken in for cutting into lumber are transferred, for example, from a conveyor into further processing machinery, such as a conventional log debarker or bucking system. Logs received by the conveyor must be separated by some means so that they are arranged end to end and separated so as to be delivered one at a time. In the prior art, many devices have been employed for this one-by-one feeding or log singulating. A patent search has discovered the following patents:
______________________________________ Patent No. Country Inventor ______________________________________ 1,892,670 U.S.A. Jaeger 2,666,462 U.S.A. Richardson 2,763,236 U.S.A. Cummings 3,439,816 U.S.A. Archambeau et al 3,502,191 U.S.A. Valo 3,584,726 U.S.A. Hartzell 4,245,735 U.S.A. Valo 4,338,060 U.S.A. Swaby 4,431,367 U.S.A. Pousette et al 969,007 Austria Talbot ______________________________________
A typical example of the devices used in the prior art of which applicant is familiar are the patents issued to Valo. The shortcoming of the device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,735, for example, is that reciprocating motion of the apparatus is relied upon to singulate the logs with attendant wear on the moving parts associated with that type of motion. Today's log diameter sizes are usually significantly smaller than sizes in past times, placing a greater load manifesting as a much higher cycling frequency on the machinery and more frequent breakdowns. The present invention, using rotary motion of its drums enables the apparatus to perform longer before parts begin wearing out. In the above array of patents, lifting bars as disclosed by applicant were not found. These bars provide a unique way of singulating logs not present in the prior art which reduces wear and tear on the machinery that presently is a major consideration in the present art. The present invention also allows singulation of a much wider range of log diameter sizes as opposed to the prior art.